Pencil-sharpener



J. SONTHEIMER.

PENCIL SHARPENER.

APPLICATION men JULY 24,1919.

1,343,796. Patented June 15, 1920.

WITNESSE S INVENTOR ATTORNEYS PATENT OFFICE. I

JOHN SONTHEIMER, 0F LINCOLN, NEBRASKA.

PENCIL-SHARPENER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J ine 15, 1920,

Application filed July 24, 1919. Serial No. 312,938.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN SONTHEIMER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Lincoln, in the county of Lancaster and State of Nebraska, have invented a new and Improved Pencil-Sharpener, of which the following is a description.

My invention relates to pencil sharpeners and has for its general object to provide a sharpening edge in a tubular member ground so that the sharpening edge is presented at the edge of the opening producedby the grinding, whereby the sharpener may be used in different ways for sharpening a penoil. as will clearly appear hereinafter.

More specifically, the inventionhas for its object to provide a sharpener that may be embodied in the tubular pencil attachments having pocket clips so that the sharpener will always be at hand and ready for use simply by slipping the clip fitting from the pencil.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, it being understood that the drawings are merely illustrative of one example of the invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pencil sharpener embodying my invention, showing the same produced in a clip attachment shown applied to a pencil;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing one manner of using the sharpener;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the sharpener showing a second manner of using it, the section being taken on the line 33, Fig. t;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the sharpener;

Fig. 5 is a cross section on the line 5-5, Fig. 4:, the view illustrating a third manner of using the sharpener.

In providing my improved sharpener, the sharpening edge is produced in a tubular element 10 and said element advantageously may be in the form of a split band provided with a clip 11 to secure the band 10 to a pocket when the band is on a pencil A. Said clip 11 is preferably stamped up from the tubular element 10 leaving in the latter beneath the clip a longitudinal slot 12.

To provide the sharpening edge in accordance with my invention the element 10 is ground to produce an opening in said element, preferably at the front as indicated at 13 and to produce a'cutting edge extending about said opening.

IVith the described construction when the tube 10 is slipped from the pencil A the point of the latter may, as in Fig. 2, be entered through the front end of said element at an angle so that the pencil will project into the opening 13 or a portion of the front end of the pencil in the opening 13 while the extreme point is accommodated in the slot 12 and in this way the side surface of the pencil may be presented to that portion of the cutting edge at the front of the opening 13, so that the cutting will be done on transversely rounding lines producing a neat result due to the transversely rounding lines of the cutting edgeof the front, as well as the U-shape of the cutting edge at this point. In that way shavings may be taken off from the wood and the point of the lead also sharpened. Also, the use of the front por-' tion of the cutting edge and with the pencil entered through the front of the element 10 is particularly useful for quickly and neatly sharpening the lead of the pencil when it is not desired to cut the wood or any material portion of the latter.

In Fig. 3 the front portion of the cutting edge is shown utilized another way, that is, by entering the point of the pencil laterally through the opening in element 10 instead of into the end thereof and disposing the pencil at such an angle that when drawn across. the front of the cutting edge the shavings may be effectively cut. A third way of using thev sharpener is to lay the pencil across the element 10 at the opening 13 so that the cutting edge at one side of the opening may be caused to produce the cutting when the pencil is drawn across the same. In the last described manner of using pencil, it is obvious thatthe cutting edge of either side of the opening may be utilized. The rear portions of the cutting edge, that is, those portions adjacent to the slot 12 may be also utilized by laying the pencil at the properangle and against the front end of the clip 11, so that the latter constitutes a guide or gage in drawing the pencil over. the extreme rear portions of the cutting edge and preventing the pencil from slipping rearwardly from the cutting edge. It is to be noted that the clip 11 at its forward end extends partially over the opening 13, that is to say, beyond the rear end of the opening to afford the guiding action referred to.

Also, it is to be noted that the projecting end of the clip is bent outwardly at an angle and that the adjacent edge portion at the opening 13 is convergent as seen in Fig. 3 toward the plane of the inclined end of the clip and furthermore, that the clip, particularly the end thereof, is flat. By the arrangement described the result is obtained that the edge portion of a pocket is readily guided beneath the clip and also the broad surface presented by the clip results in a clamping pressure against the fabric at the pocket, not limited to a single point or a single line, the cloth being clamped at both sides of the clip against the pencil when in the clip. It will be clear from the foregoing that the complete cutting edge of the opening 13 may be utilized and thereby the life of the sharpener is prolonged.

I would state in conclusion that While the illustrated example constitutes a practical embodiment of my invention, I do not limit myself strictly to the mechanical details herein illustrated, since manifestly the same c; n be considerably varied Without departure from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A pencil sharpener including a tubular element having a longitudinal slot therein, and an opening at one end oi the slot and Wider than the latter, said opening presenting a cutting edge extending about the same and merging into the Walls of said slot; together with a clip on said element at said slot and terminating adjacent to said opening so that the clip and the adjacent edge portions at the opening jointly act to guide the edge of a pocket beneath the clip.

2. A pencil sharpener including a tubular element having a lateral opening, there being a cutting edge extending about said opening; together With a clip disposed longitudinally on said tubular element and extending at its free end over the rear end of said opening, the side edges of the opening being convergent adjacent -to the clip, and the said front end of the clip forming a guide for the pencil when being sharpened by the cutting edge at the rear end of the opening.

3. A pencil sharpener including a tubular element having an opening in a side thereof and presenting a cutting edge defining said opening, and a clip on said element at the exterior and ranging longitudinally thereof, the front end of the clip extending over the opening and being bent outwardly at an angle to lie in a plane inclined to the axis of said element, the adjacent edge portions at the opening being in planes convergent to the plane of said inclined end of the clip.

J OHN SONTHEIMER.

Witness D. MosnLEY. 

